Bring the Meal Monsters into your kitchen!

If your kids are big fans of junk food and you don’t know how to change their minds, then read on. A new app, website and social media account might be the unexpected answer to your problems.

Founded by Dubai dwellers Mary-Kei (a food lover and illustrator) and Elisa (a businesswoman and mum), Meal Monsters is an animated, interactive app that teaches families about healthy eating and cooking, through recipes, stories and games.

Your little ones will meet Sal, Gor and Pom, who live on Planet Yum. These cheeky characters love growing veggies and cooking yummy meals, and sometimes come to our planet on their Radish Rockets to check what the children here are eating, helping them cook delicious recipes.

Through the engaging recipe stories and exciting characters your kids will learn how to identify their food, what ingredients are used, what superfoods are, why whole foods are best and why cooking from scratch is better than processed foods.

Designed to be used by parents and children, played as a game or read as a story, this educational app encourages family bonding as well as foodie adventures, using the iPad to explore Planet Yum and making meals to enjoy together. From ingredients to kitchenware, using the app will equip your kids with nutrition knowledge for the future – and in a fun way!

I especially love the step by step recipes when Sal, Gor and Pm tell children exactly what to do. It all feels really accessible and empowering, and ages 4 and up could confidently have a go at lots of these dishes, with a bit of help from mum and dad.

On the website you’ll also find the blog, where the team share expert advice like how to get more veggies into your fussy eaters (clue: ice lollies) to bonus games.

While most foodie apps are used for having junk food delivered to your door, Meal Monsters is about educating and creating, teaching the family about healthy ingredients, how to make dinner together and having fun in the process.

Currently available for your iPad, the app is easy enough for children to use alone, and there’s a new Kickstarter appeal to develop Meal Monsters into something even bigger. To pledge your support, visit their page here.

You can also follow Meal Monsters on Instagram for helpful hints and quick recipe ideas, as well as photos of Sal, Gor and Pom getting up to all sorts of mischief!

ABOUT ME

I’m Helen Farmer, an editor and journalist, mum to 3-year-old Phoebe and one-year-old Tabitha, wife to Nick and a mummy blogger in Dubai (even though I don’t really identify as one, but I blog, and I’m a mum, so there you go). I’ve been living in the Middle East for the last 10 years, working in books, magazines and broadcasting, shedding some light on the good and bad of life, work and motherhood in the UAE.

ABOUT THE BLOG

The Mothership is for you if you’re a busy, active mum who can’t stand small talk, bad info and twee blogs that make out that mothering is all unicorns and rose petals, instead of admitting that you can love your child so much it terrifies you – while still wanting a night in alone watching The Great British Bake Off with a double G&T or a night out pretending you don’t have children.